I have really wondered about this myself quite a bit since I did do a pretty big renovation last year as "owner/builder" and I built a pool a few years ago. Having a wife in the building business helped a lot and I had excellent access to the necessary trades but the permit process was daunting on the addition. The pool, not so hard.
I really wondered at the time if the building department wouldn't have a profit center in charging double or more for owner/builder permits and then offering some extra guidance.
In my case I would have paid double, just to get my permit without having to go back there 7 times.
If I had some confusion in the inspection process it would have been nice to have an inspector who knew I paid extra so he could explain some things to me. Fortunately that never came up. Also an inspector looking at homeowner work should be spending more time there.
I do have some experience with that since in my state job I did inspect a lot of work done by the maintenance department, inmates or park rangers. I took my time and inspected a lot more than your typical muni guy would, looking at a licensed guy's work.
I know in a perfect world everyone would hire licensed trades for everything but as long as Home Depot and Lowes are out there and we have TV shows telling people how easy these things are we will have DIY installers.
I think there should be some way to help them do it safely.
BTW has anyone ever seen that mythical electrician (or other trade) who pulls your permits and then comes back to check your work before the final
I always hear about that on DIY BBs and I always think it is up there with the tooth fairy, the Easter Bunny and Santa Claus. To start with, it is illegal in Florida.
It is far more likely that a homeowner would pull the permit and get a trunk slammer to do the work.
